Friday, January 4, 2008

Well today I had an interesting episode. I woke up at 4 am with an extreme sharp pain in my appendix area. I had this once before but it passed quickly and I forgot about it. Not this time. I couldn't move, breathe deep or let pressure off of the area without it killing me and it was constant not letting up at all. By 4:30 with no relief Nick called and left a message for the doc on call and he/she never called back. Nick tried to help me stand to go to the bathroom but that didn't work well either. I couldn't put any weight on my right leg or straighten it away from the cramping. I can honestly say I never felt anything like it and I don't want to again. It was almost 6 am until it started letting up. Today it feels like a pulled muscle and is tender to touch. I called the doctor today and talked to a nurse. The first question is always....are you bleeding. I wasn't and it didn't feel anything like what contractions are described as. I was actually concerned that it might be my appendix. The nurse said it usually doesn't last that long but that it's most likely Round Ligament pain. What? She said it happens a lot with women who are pregnant with twins since their uterus grows so rapidly. I looked it up on the internet. (cuz we know everything on the internet is true.) lol----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Round Ligament:Typically in the non-pregnant state the uterus is about the size of an apple or pear. There are thick ligaments which hold the uterus in place in the abdomen, referred to as round ligaments.

During pregnancy, your uterus will expand in size and weight, and the ligaments supporting it will have to stretch, becoming longer and thinner. As these ligaments pull and tug they may irritate nearby nerve fibers, which causes pain. The severity of the pain in some cases can seem extreme.

Some common symptoms of round ligament pain include:

Ligament spasms or contractions/cramps that trigger a sharp pain typically on the right side of the abdomen.Pain upon waking or suddenly rolling over in your sleep.Pain in the abdomen that is sharp brought on by exercise or other vigorous activity.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sounds like it. She told me to take Tylenol and put a heating pad on it all day. She said if it isn't any better tomorrow to call back in. She wants to make sure at that point that it's not my appendix. The heat feels good....I still have cramping pain there on and off and it's still sore. I REALLY hope this doesn't keep happening. My belly keeps getting bigger every day. I feel like I have a large watermelon attached to me at this point. Everything of course is measured by the size of fruit. Is there a fruit bigger than a watermelon? The nurse said to sleep with lots of pillow support around my belly and to support my belly when rolling over, standing and sitting. What the heck do you do when you're sleeping and you roll over? The pain woke me up. How odd is it that it usually happens on your right side? Weird.

So how concerned should we be that the doc on call never called us back. hmmm.........

It's a bird...a plane...A WATERMELON!!! and to think I'm only 1/2 way there.